Public statement by LSR students

The students of Lady Shri Ram College for Women—a large number of them filling the area outside auditorium, the corridor, the entire staircase and many even outside under the sun—started the protest not because we are against the Women’s Reservation Bill, but because the video of the Principal of the college was posted on the BJP4India official Instagram page. As a college that touts that it is apolitical and does not allow students to organise political events, the students found this extremely hypocritical. In the 15 minutes of the claimed “transparent dialogue” that happened yesterday, we were told by the Principal that she recorded the video for the Ministry of Women and Child Development and that it was posted on the BJP4India page without her consent. On further questions about if she contacted the page regarding it being posted without her consent, she said, “No”.

After asking the students not to contact the media, the Principal gave a statement to the Indian Express that was carried this morning (16th April 2026). In it, she stated that she had spoken in the video in a personal capacity and that she was simply showing support for a Bill that would empower women. However, she appeared as ‘The Principal of LSR’ in the video that was posted by the BJP4India page. Even putting that aside, the Principal of a college openly endorsing a political party by appearing on their social media page— even if claimed it is in her personal capacity— is problematic. As the head of a prestigious institution like LSR, her words on a public forum have an immediate impact on the college itself.

The Principal in the Indian Express article stated she was engaging in an intellectual discussion on the Bill, regarding critical social discourse. However, the address was not at an academic event but on a political party’s social media page. Furthermore, at the time of the video being posted, even the draft of the Bill was not publicly available. How is critical discourse possible without anything to analyse and discuss?

Since then, a draft of the Bill has been made public— including a controversial provision on delimitation.

Following are the demands that the students have raised:

1 Remove the video of the Principal, Dr. Kanika Ahuja, speaking on the BJP page immediately, and issue a public clarification regarding this being her individual stance and not the institution’s stand, mentioning her name and The content for the same should be made transparent with the students before uploading.

2. Along with the clarification, the communication that took place between the principal/admin and the political party representative(s) should be made public for transparency and any monetary transactions that might have taken place in adjacence.

3. Stop communalisation. Stop inviting speakers without proper background checks, and ensure that these are done with student Making sure no sexism, misogyny, racism, casteism or hate towards any marginalised community is endorsed.

4. Ensure that all political engagements on campus remain strictly non-partisan by inviting speakers from diverse ideological and politically-inclined backgrounds, so that the college remains an inclusive academic space.

5. Reaffirm the institution’s commitment to secular and democratic values by issuing a public statement that clearly distances the college from any form of political endorsement or ideological bias.

6. Delete the photographs and videos taken of the students during the protest by the staff, professors and administration without our consent.

7. Remove the names of any student from any list made by any  committee

8. No direct or indirect persecution of students and alumni in any form by any We will not be penalised for expressing dissent.